The facility could consume almost double the amount of electricity that the entirety of Imperial County<\/a> used in 2024, according to state data and estimates shared by the project\u2019s developer. It could also need 750,000 gallons of water per day.<\/p>\n Despite those immense demands, the project\u2019s developer is openly seeking to avoid California’s formidable environmental review process. In interviews, Huntington Beach-based lawyer and businessman Sebastian Rucci said he is aiming to begin construction as soon as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cThe demand has increased exponentially,\u201d Rucci told KPBS last month, referring to the clamor for AI computing power. \u201cOur whole goal is speed.\u201d<\/p>\n Rucci and his supporters are pitching the data center as an economic boost for the poor, majority-Latino county. They argue it would provide needed tax revenue for the county government, create local demand for the wealth of renewable energy that the Imperial Valley produces and produce a burst of construction work in a region where jobs are hard to come by<\/a>. <\/p>\n They also say they will take steps to reduce the project\u2019s environmental footprint, including by using recycled water.<\/p>\n But for many Imperial County residents, the lack of a formal environmental analysis for a facility of this size has raised serious questions. A growing number fear Rucci and county officials are advancing a project that will strain the rural valley\u2019s power grid and water supply with little benefit for the people who live here.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it makes sense that they came to our neighborhood,\u201d said Kathia Olivas, a 22-year-old substitute teacher and organizer who lives in the city of Imperial, blocks away from the planned data center. The developers, she believes, \u201csee us as easy to exploit.\u201d<\/p>\n Rucci also has a history of problems with some previous business ventures. At least two of them have faced state or federal investigations \u2014 one of which included allegations of money laundering and a pattern of corrupt activity, KPBS found. The other, a treatment center for drug addiction in Ohio, had its certification revoked by state health officials.<\/p>\n Yet, plans for the project are advancing swiftly through the county approval process. Imperial County Planning and Development Services Director Jim Minnick said county officials had just one public vote remaining before construction could begin.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a land-use perspective, there is no other requirement,\u201d Minnick told KPBS last month.<\/p>\n The planned site for a massive data center along Aten and Clark Road sits next to homes in the small city of Imperial, California, on Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n Data in the desert<\/p>\n The proposed data center is part of a nationwide AI infrastructure boom that is becoming increasingly controversial. Major tech companies are racing to expand their AI capabilities, and more communities are pushing back<\/a> over the environmental costs.<\/p>\n Data centers have been part of the infrastructure of the internet for a long time. But they are essential to the ambitions of generative AI companies, which require unprecedented computing power to develop and run complex programs like ChatGPT.<\/p>\n In order to power that hardware and keep it cool, most data centers require massive amounts of energy and water. As the major tech companies pour billions of dollars<\/a> into expanding the number and size of their data centers, researchers say their impact on those resources is a major concern<\/a> \u2014 especially when they are already under stress from climate change.<\/p>\n Right now, most data centers in the United States are concentrated in Virginia and other urban centers across the country. But industry groups say more developers are now looking to rural areas, where land is more affordable and the projects may face less resistance.<\/p>\n \u201cThat can incentivize developers to move to those areas if they’re able to connect and come up to power more quickly,\u201d said Khara Boender, a policy analyst with the Data Center Coalition.<\/p>\n On its surface, the Imperial Valley appears to have plenty of land and resources.<\/p>\n The rural border county was California\u2019s third-largest producer of renewable energy<\/a> in 2024. Farmers in the valley also hold some of the oldest legal claims to the Colorado River, which give them the power to siphon huge amounts of water from the river every year.<\/p>\n For many of the Valley\u2019s 180,000 residents though, that picture is more complicated. Power outages are a frequent occurrence, especially as demand soars during the blazing summer months. Access to clean water, too, can vary widely depending on where people live, and local officials often urge residents to cut back their water use.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve always been told to conserve,\u201d said Francisco Leal, an engineer who lives right next to the planned data center site. \u201cYear after year, you see that there\u2019s a drought and the water is running low.\u201d<\/p>\n Huntington Beach-based developer Sebastian Rucci addresses the Imperial County Planning Commission during a hearing on a lot merger for the massive data center he hopes to build near the city of Imperial on Dec. 18, 2025 at the county administration building in El Centro, California.<\/p>\n A developer with a turbulent past<\/p>\n It was a little over a year ago that Sebastian Rucci decided he was going to join the data center gold rush.<\/p>\n The bespectacled entrepreneur and lawyer speaks with an air of assurance. His law office is based in the wealthy suburb of Huntington Beach, but he lives more than 100 miles east on the outskirts of Palm Desert. As we spoke over Zoom last month, golf carts meandered past a manicured green out the window of Rucci\u2019s home office.<\/p>\n That confident air, though, is at odds with Rucci\u2019s turbulent business history. Across the country in Ohio, his previous business ventures have left a trail of criminal investigations and legal complaints.<\/p>\n In 2010, local county prosecutors charged Rucci and several other people<\/a> with money laundering, promoting prostitution and perjury at a night club which he owned in the Ohio city of Youngstown, state court records show.<\/p>\n The felony charges against Rucci and the others were eventually thrown out, some because the case took too long to go to trial. Rucci was convicted of selling beer at the club with an expired license in 2014. He served 30 days in jail.<\/p>\n Rucci pivoted, starting a hotel-turned-treatment center for drug addiction called California Palms at the same location. (He originally had plans for an inn named Hotel California but was sued for trademark infringement.)<\/p>\n Ohio health officials inspected the treatment center and found staff had provided false information about the facility\u2019s clients and staff, falsified signatures, broken various health care protocols and failed to provide an appropriate amount of treatment in some cases, according to a 2021 state report. State officials revoked the treatment center\u2019s certification, which led to termination of the center\u2019s Medicaid contract.<\/p>\n Have a tip? \ud83d\udce8<\/p>\n The Investigations Team at KPBS holds powerful people and institutions accountable. But we can\u2019t do it alone \u2014 we depend on tips from the public to point us in the right direction. There are two ways to contact the I-Team.<\/p>\n For general tips, you can send an email to investigations@kpbs.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you need more security, you can send anonymous tips or share documents via our secure Signal account at 619-594-8177.<\/p>\n To learn more about how we use Signal and other privacy protections, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n That same year, the FBI began investigating Rucci and the treatment center, federal court records show<\/a>. In October 2021, federal agents raided the center and seized over $600,000.<\/p>\n Federal officials never charged Rucci or the treatment center with any crimes. Rucci sued the government for the confiscated funds, which they eventually returned with interest. He is currently seeking copies of the warrants in an ongoing legal case, and recently won in an appeal.<\/p>\n In an interview with KPBS, Rucci said he was unfairly singled out by local officials in Ohio in these cases. He said he and the night club were investigated for political reasons, and he argued that state health officials had given federal authorities misleading information about the treatment center.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was all politically-motivated,\u201d he said. \u201cI won them all but one.\u201d<\/p>\n Rucci also disputed state health officials\u2019 report on the treatment center, saying that it was one-sided. He added that the treatment center provided a significant amount of free care to military veterans.<\/p>\n Rucci did acknowledge that the center was not prepared for the rapid growth they saw early-on.<\/p>\n Those setbacks haven\u2019t stopped Rucci from continuing to branch out. Most recently, he said, he had been trying his hand at housing construction in Imperial County, using a state tool that gives developers the power to override local zoning laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n It was there, Rucci said, that he learned about the availability of renewable energy and land in the valley \u2014 and the potential for data centers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Imperial County is a great opportunity,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have a lot of renewable energy down there. They have a lot of potential.\u201d<\/p>\n Kori Suzuki for KPBS \/ California Local<\/p>\n Steam rises from a geothermal energy plant in Imperial County on Feb. 15, 2024.<\/p>\n \u2018Our whole goal is speed\u2019<\/p>\n Rucci did his research. In September 2024, he filed documents with the state creating a company called Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Together, he and his friend Hector Casas began mapping out potential locations for a data center in Imperial County. They spoke with Casas\u2019 brother-in-law, who works at the energy firm ZGlobal<\/a>, to learn more about the power infrastructure needs.<\/p>\n \u201cI could see he was very sharp,\u201d Rucci said. \u201cHe, of course, could get the sense of my knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n But Rucci also had another goal in mind: to plan the project in a way that would allow it to avoid facing an environmental analysis under the California Environmental Quality Act<\/a> (CEQA), the state\u2019s landmark environmental protection law.<\/p>\n CEQA requires state and local governments to study the possible environmental effects<\/a> of development projects and get public input. It also requires developers to reduce or make up for those impacts \u2014 and allows people or groups to sue if they say an environmental study wasn\u2019t detailed enough.<\/p>\n Critics of the law often accuse it of dramatically slowing down<\/a> construction of projects like new homes. Rucci, too, worried about getting into a drawn-out review process without knowing whether he would be allowed to build the project in the end.<\/p>\n \u201cHyperscalers are looking for friendly territory,\u201d he said, referring to the world\u2019s largest tech companies<\/a>. \u201cCalifornia’s not really a place that people would say is friendly. But unlike others, I believe that I can get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n To avoid those CEQA requirements, Rucci aimed to design a ministerial project<\/a> \u2014 a planning term that essentially means local officials have no option to deny it as long as the technical requirements are met. Under state law, ministerial projects are typically exempt from environmental reviews.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is not sneaky,\u201d Rucci said. \u201cThat’s just smart.\u201d<\/p>\n (In a later email, Rucci added that he also believed their project had a second exemption under a state law passed in June<\/a>, which excuses \u201cadvanced manufacturing\u201d facilities from environmental review if they\u2019re on land already-zoned for industrial use.)<\/p>\n Rucci and Casas focused their search on land that was already zoned for industrial activity and where data centers were a permitted use.<\/p>\n They ended up with around a dozen parcels of suitable land strung along the S-Line, a high-powered transmission line that carries electricity in and out of the valley. They were in three areas, Rucci said: the county seat of El Centro, unincorporated county land and the small city of Imperial.<\/p>\n Rucci approached the city of Imperial first. But city officials pushed against Rucci\u2019s claims that the project could avoid undergoing an environmental review and the public input requirements..<\/p>\n \u201cFor a variety of reasons, we didn’t agree with (Rucci\u2019s) analysis,\u201d Imperial City Manager Dennis Morita told KPBS. \u201cIt was important to our Council that the neighbors had a voice in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n In August, after months of discussion, Rucci withdrew his proposal.<\/p>\n Then he went to the County of Imperial. Rucci proposed a similar project, but one that was significantly larger and would be located just down the street on unincorporated land, next to two residential neighborhoods and a U.S. Border Patrol station.<\/p>\n County planners agreed with Rucci\u2019s terms. Within months, they began to clear the way<\/a> for his company to start grading the soil.<\/p>\n Imperial City Manager Dennis Morita stands for a portrait at the Imperial County administration building in El Centro, California on Dec. 18, 2025. The city of Imperial is suing the over a massive planned data center project which city officials allege has not gone through the necessary review.<\/p>\n Imperial County Planning Commissioners Anthony Gallegos, Kathryn Dunn and Carson Kalin listen during a hearing on a lot merger for a massive planned data center near the city of Imperial on Dec. 18, 2025 at the county administration building in El Centro, California.<\/p>\n Environmental impacts contested<\/p>\n Despite their efforts to steer clear of an environmental review, Rucci argued his company has taken significant steps to reduce the data center\u2019s impact on Imperial County\u2019s water, air and energy.<\/p>\n When it comes to water, Rucci also says the data center would rely entirely on reclaimed water, or <\/a>municipal waste water that has been purified by a sewage treatment plant.<\/p>\n Last month, he told KPBS he had reached an agreement to buy a total of 6 million gallons of reclaimed water daily from the cities of El Centro and Imperial \u2014 and that his company would pay for the necessary infrastructure upgrades. The data center itself, Rucci said, would use an eighth of that amount, or around 750,000 gallons per day. The remainder, he said, they would release into the drying Salton Sea<\/a>.<\/p>\n The developers had also prioritized natural gas generators for backup power over dirtier, diesel-powered alternatives, Rucci said. The planned data center would have two backup systems<\/a>: the generators and a massive set of batteries.<\/p>\n Rucci said the Imperial Irrigation District (IID), the regional energy utility, had studied his proposal and believed they could handle the increased load. He shared copies of three feasibility studies, which showed that District officials had looked at whether they could support data centers of various sizes.<\/p>\n Kori Suzuki for KPBS \/ California Local<\/p>\n The Salton Sea is seen from Red Hill Marina near Calipatria, California on April 21, 2025.<\/p>\n But local government officials have cast doubt on some of Rucci\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n El Centro and Imperial officials both said they had discussed the possibility of providing reclaimed water but denied formally agreeing to it. In a press release last month<\/a>, El Centro officials acknowledged that the project\u2019s developers had approached them to ask about water service. But they said the city had not signed any agreement.<\/p>\n \u201cAny entity expressing interest in locating within El Centro or acquiring services from the City must undergo a formal, transparent, and thorough review process,\u201d city officials wrote.<\/p>\n IID officials raised questions about whether they could meet the data center\u2019s energy needs. In response to questions from KPBS, a spokesperson wrote that Rucci\u2019s estimates for power would represent \u201ca massive increase in overall electrical load.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhile studies are still underway, IID can say that its current infrastructure would not be sufficient to serve an increase in load of this magnitude,\u201d wrote IID spokesperson Robert Schettler in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n IID officials also did not have many answers about how the planned data center might affect the cost of energy for Imperial County residents. Utilities often need to make expensive upgrades<\/a> to handle the intense energy demands of data centers, costs which they sometimes pass on to consumers.<\/p>\n Last year, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University found that data centers could increase the average cost of producing electricity<\/a> by 8% nationwide.<\/p>\n Schettler said IID did not yet have a roadmap for charging such a large customer.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a minimum, IID is pursuing a framework that is ratepayer neutral, and where feasible, one that helps reduce the burden on existing ratepayers for needed system upgrades,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Opponents listen as the Imperial County Planning Commission holds a hearing on a lot merger for a massive planned data center near the city of Imperial on Dec. 18, 2025 at the county administration building in El Centro, California.<\/p>\n \u2018At the end of the day, it\u2019s power and water\u2019<\/p>\n That uncertainty has rattled many Imperial County residents, especially those who live close to the planned data center. In recent weeks, they have criticized the lack of environmental analysis and questioned how county officials vet new developers.<\/p>\n Francisco Leal, the engineer who lives next to the planned data center site, has been left feeling like the project\u2019s developers aren\u2019t providing a full picture.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not telling the complete story,\u201d Leal said. \u201cThey can promise a lot of things. But until there are binding documents, all of those are just assumptions.\u201d<\/p>\n Leal and his wife moved to the city of Imperial looking for a quiet place to raise a family. Both engineers, they met in school at the Instituto Tecnol\u00f3gico de Mexicali, just across the border. Afterwards, they found the perfect home, nestled between farm fields in the southeast corner of the city.<\/p>\n Now, as a parent, Leal worries about what the data center would mean for the home his children have grown up in \u2014 and for life in the Valley as a whole. He worries the project could lead to more energy outages and put more stress on the water-stricken region.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s in the Valley, and that’s why this issue matters,\u201d Leal said. \u201cBecause, at the end of the day, it\u2019s power and water.\u201d<\/p>\n News of the data center has exploded across the rest of the valley too. Many residents and environmental activists have fiercely opposed it, flooding the county\u2019s December public meetings. More than 2,000 people signed an online petition<\/a> against the project.<\/p>\n Kathia Olivas, the substitute teacher and organizer, lives with her parents just a few streets away from Leal. To her, the data center plans echoed the long history of companies<\/a> and industries<\/a> seeking the Imperial Valley\u2019s water, energy and labor.<\/p>\n \u201cHistorically, we’ve been a very abundant population, and a very exploited population as well,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to stand two feet on the ground and say, \u2018No.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n One of the data center\u2019s key local consultants, Tom DuBose, also offered to buy the homes of people living nearby \u2014 an offer that struck Olivas as deeply offensive. She said her parents have worked hard for their home and chose it carefully.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just a house,\u201d Olivas said. \u201cPeople buy these houses in this community \u2026 to bring stability to their families.\u201d<\/p>\n Olivas, the substitute teacher and community organizer, stands for a portrait at the planned data center site on Dec. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n Some local officials have thrown their weight behind the project. Timothy Kelley, president of the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corporation, said another potential data center developer<\/a> had recently canceled their plans because they could not see the project getting up and running quickly.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we continue down that path, there will be nothing for the Imperial Valley,\u201d Kelley said at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting.<\/p>\n The county has largely declined to answer KPBS\u2019 questions. County spokesperson Eddie Lopez declined or did not respond to repeated requests for interviews last month.<\/p>\n Imperial resident Francisco Leal stands for a portrait at the planned site for a massive data center, which would sit right next to his home in the small city of Imperial, California, on Dec. 18, 2025. Leal fears the project will put new strain on the rural region’s water and energy supply and could create health risks like noise and air pollution. “At the end of the day, it’s power and water,” he said.<\/p>\n Huntington Beach-based developer Sebastian Rucci and Imperial Valley design consultant Tom DuBose listen, along with a group of labor union members, as the Imperial County Planning Commission holds a hearing on a lot merger for the massive data center Rucci hopes to build near the city of Imperial on Dec. 18, 2025 at the county administration building in El Centro, California.<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m going nowhere\u2019<\/p>\n The question now is whether Rucci\u2019s plan to avoid environmental review will hold up against widening public and legal scrutiny. Across the nation, data center projects are increasingly facing backlash<\/a> over what many see as giant tech firms\u2019 disregard for local communities.<\/p>\n The city of Imperial is currently suing to challenge the project and Rucci\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n In a lawsuit<\/a> filed in early December, the city accused county planners of violating CEQA and local laws at several different junctures. They said certain elements of the project, including the proposed battery system, were not ministerial and would need to go through an environmental review.<\/p>\n Rucci’s company and the county have asked the court to dismiss the city\u2019s lawsuit.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, Rucci also filed his own lawsuit<\/a> against Imperial city officials in federal court, alleging they had engaged in \u201ca coordinated campaign to sabotage the data center.\u201d In court filings, he said the city had gone back on their agreement to provide recycled water and had \u201cjeopardized\u201d his relationship with the major tech company backing the project \u2014 a relationship he said could be worth billions of dollars.<\/p>\n Rucci has declined to say which company is backing the project, although he has referred to Google as the potential tenant in multiple emails and internal memos. (Google did not respond to a request for comment.)<\/p>\n A California lawmaker is also launching an effort to block data center developers from trying to avoid environmental reviews in the future.<\/p>\n Last week, state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-18, introduced a new bill<\/a> that would require all new data centers projects in California to go through an environmental review. The bill would also clarify that data centers do not qualify for \u201cadvanced manufacturing\u201d exemptions.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769158532_251_.jpeg\")
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